The largest Ukrainian mining and metal company Metinvest has said that its enterprises are operating under Ukrainian law and its Khartsyzsk Pipe Works and Yenakievo Iron and Steel Works (both based in Donetsk region) have been re-registered in Ukrainian controlled Mariupol, and has expressed hope that VAT for exported goods will be refunded.

Metinvest issued the statement when the State Treasury Service of Ukraine, under the instruction of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), stopped refunding VAT to Metinvest-Ukraine trade company, Khartsyzsk Pipe Works and Yenakievo Iron and Steel Works (all parts of Metinvest).

The reason for the service refusing to repay VAT was that the legal and actual addresses, as well as the production facilities of these enterprises, were located in areas not under the control of Ukraine.

“Metinvest Group said that Khartsyzsk Pipe Works on September 2 was re-registered on the territory of Ukraine and the change of the address of Yenakievo Iron and Steel Works was being completed – on August 21 its shareholders at a meeting made the decision. The legal address of the two plants is Mariupol (Donetsk region). Trade operations of the group from February 1, 2015 were united as a part of Metinvest-SMC (Kyiv), the company is the key channel of selling Metinvest’s metal products in Ukraine,” Metinvest said in its report.

The group said that all its Ukrainian enterprises were operating under Ukrainian law and paid taxes to the Ukrainian national budget. In 2014 the Metinvest’s enterprises paid UAH 14.2 billion of taxes, and in H1 2015 the figure reached UAH 7.4 billion.